Christian inspiration

Archive for April, 2014

Young Entrepreneur Spotlight

My name is Nicole Ellis and many of you know me as a poet and a blogger. God has blessed me with Sunshine’s Reflections blog and in August 2013 I became a business owner for Fit For A Purpose, LLC.

What is Fit For A Purpose, LLC. (F.4.A.P)?

A spiritual and physical wellness consultation company.

What is the Vision?

We believe we are all called for a purpose and need to be spiritually, physically, mentally, and emotionally fit to carry out our calling. F.4.A.P. provides consultation to individuals, corporations, churches and other organizations dealing in the areas of spiritual and physical wellness. F.4.A.P. seeks to provide assistance dealing in the following areas; self-improvement, organizational improvement, spiritual and physical wellness, inspiration, encouragement, and motivation.

What is the foundation of the company?

Romans 8:28 (NKJV)

28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.

What services are provided:

BOOK COMING 2014! Fit For A Purpose; A Spiritual Journey to Physical Weight Loss.

Sunshine’s Reflections

Good morning! Happy Wednesday to you all! I enjoyed a little break with my family last week. It was much-needed and appreciated. I pray your week and weekend was a blessed one. It’s a new day and I’m glad to be alive!

TFTD: Put on Jesus

Romans 13:11-14(NKJV)

11 And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. 12 The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. 13 Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy. 14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.

Every day of the week I have to get ready to go somewhere. Monday thru Friday I get ready for work, Saturday I typically get ready to hang out with friends or family and Sunday I get ready for church. No matter where I am going I must get dressed. I have to put on clothing. What I will wear depends on the destination; will I wear high heels, a dress, slacks, jeans, sweats, sneakers, etc. No matter what I must put on clothing. As believers, there is something we must put on that shouldn’t change depending on where we are going or who we are going to be around. We must put on the Lord Jesus Christ at all times!

It’s time to take off the “clothing” of the world. The Bible tells us to cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. We have to take off the sweatshirt of greed, the eye glasses of envy, the chap stick of lying, the belt of cheating, the gloves of stealing, the rings of killing, the duffel bag of fornicating and the list goes on. The same way you put on clothing is the same way you put on these spirits that are contrary to the will of God. Take them off and throw them away. It’s time to destroy the works of darkness and put on JESUS.

Jesus is the light of the world and in order to put on the armor of light you must have He who is light living on the inside. You have to wake up in the morning and make a conscious decision to put on the WHOLE armor of God; gird your waist with truth, put on the breastplate of righteousness, shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace, carry the shield of faith, put on the helmet of salvation and carry the sword of the Spirit. Each day you need to wash off the day before and put on JESUS. Stop putting on the same old dirty clothes from the world that are filled with hate, confusion and dissension. Put on love, patience, compassion, grace, mercy, hope and peace. People are literally dying spiritually, emotionally, mentally and physically and they need to see the light in this very dark world. Allow the light of Christ to shine through you. What will you wear today?

I encourage you to carry Jesus with you everywhere you go. If you feel like you can’t “wear” Christ to some of the places you frequent then it’s time to stop going to those places and hanging out with those people.

Have a blessed day!

Mrs. Nicole “Sunshine” Ellis, MBA

Can’t breathe: Try Spiritual CPR: Consistent in praying, Persistent in pursuing the knowledge of God, and Resistant to temptation.

Sunshine’s Reflections

Proverbs 8:34-35 (NKJV)

34 Blessed is the man who listens to me, Watching daily at my gates, Waiting at the posts of my doors. 35 For whoever finds me finds life, And obtains favor from the Lord;

Life consist of many different phases and series of events, such as; birth, childhood, becoming a teenager, transitioning into adulthood, going to school, graduating, failing or dropping out of school, getting married, staying single or getting divorced and the list goes on. During these phases of life, people tend to look for something. Some look for fame and fortune, some look for Mr. or Mrs. Right, some look for a career, children and success. There is an infinite number of things people look to accomplish in life. The question is what have you been looking for?

I realize the problem with most people and even believers of Christ, is we have been looking for things in the wrong places. I say “WE” because I have been guilty of it too. We want a great life so we look in corners and even dark places to get them. We listen to talk radio, talk show host, read a plethora of books, watch reality TV, listen to our friends, all in an effort to find what we have been looking for. The problem is we listen to the wrong sources and we are looking for things that man is incapable of providing.

Scripture tells us, “Blessed is the man who LISTENS to me, WATCHING daily at my gates, WAITING at the post of my doors.” (Proverbs 8:34).God has given us three specific instructions; listen to Him and His Word. You can’t hear from God if you don’t study His Word. It doesn’t say, Blessed is the man who listens to everyone, but me. Make sure you are listening to God. It goes on to say, “Watching daily at my gates.” We have to seek God DAILY and keep our eyes on Him. We have to stand at the post and watch to see what He wants to show us through His Word and in our lives. You don’t know what to watch for if you don’t know His voice to hear from Him. Position yourself to hear from God by praying, fasting and studying His word. Finally, we have to WAIT on Him. My 4-year-old son says, “It’s so hard waiting.” And I must agree, it’s hard waiting for answers at times. However, make sure you hold your position at the post that God has assigned you to. Stop moving from place to place. Someone reading this may be out of position. Sit down and wait on God. He wants to speak to you, but you are all over the place. God may never rush to our situation, but He is never late either. He is always on time. TRUST HIM ENOUGH TO WAIT FOR AN ANSWER!

Whatever you have been looking for, I encourage you to stop looking in all the wrong places. Listen to God, Watch Him work through His Word, through your life, in your life and through the lives of others. And Wait on Him. Don’t rush the process. We end up causing more damage when we don’t wait on Him. Stop seeking counsel from people who don’t know God and more importantly, who God hasn’t sent you too.

When we follow the three steps; listen, watch and wait, my Bible says, we will find life and obtain FAVOR from the Lord. When you don’t have Christ in your life you aren’t living. Following Him gives you life and life more abundantly. Then you obtain FAVOR, the blessings of God. These are things man can’t provide. Only God can give life and favor. I don’t know about you, but to gain life and favor is a blessing I can’t afford to miss.

Let’s listen, watch and wait so we can walk in the favor of God.

Have a blessed day.

Mrs. Nicole “Sunshine” Ellis, MBA

Can’t breathe: Try Spiritual CPR: Consistent in praying, Persistent in pursuing the knowledge of God, and Resistant to temptation.

Sunshine’s Reflections

Good morning. Happy Friday! I’ve been working on some ministry assignments this week and apologize for my absence. I pray that you have remained consistent with your devotional time with the Lord.

TFTD: For YOUR glory I will do ANYTHING

Romans 8:18 (NKJV)

18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

Deuteronomy 5:24(NKJV)

24 And you said: ‘Surely the Lord our God has shown us His glory and His greatness, and we have heard His voice from the midst of the fire. We have seen this day that God speaks with man; yet he still lives

I was singing the lyrics to the song For your glory the other day; “For Your glory, I will do anything, just to see you, to behold you as my King.”Have you ever stopped to think about the words that you are singing and declaring to the Lord? Have you ever stopped to interpret what, “I WILL DO ANYTHING” really means? The declaration in this song is heavy and should not be taken lightly.

Are you willing to do ANYTHING, which means “something, no mater what, in any way possible“, to see the glory of God? Sometimes as Christians, we think the “ANYTHING” will be easy and filled with joy, but I’m a living witness that sometimes “Anything” can be tough. Are you willing to suffer to see God’s glory? Are you willing to do whatever is necessary in order to see God’s glory? Are you willing to leave that relationship that God has been telling you to leave, walk away from that job that has been taking too much of your time away from God or end those friendships with the people who aren’t sowing into your life? Will you endure challenges to your way of life; financially, mentally, emotionally, physically and even spiritually in order to behold God as your KING?

I am learning that God allows things to happen to us in order to draw us closer to Him. He also allows us to encounter suffering and tough times in order to pull out whatever that is in us that is holding us back from connecting with Him. If we are honest, there is some junk in us that needs to come out. Sometimes we don’t realize it until we are hit with a tough situation. We endure trials and tribulations in order to see the glory of God that will be revealed in us, through the situation. *Extends hands in worship* God has been changing my perspective. Whatever I go through, doesn’t even compare with the glory that will be revealed. That should give you hope to endure until the end.

Take time to pull up the lyrics to the songs that you sing in your personal worship time and even at church. Ask yourself, “Am I living a life that lines up to the declaration that is being made in this song? Am I willing to do what the song says to the Lord?” There is power in our tongue and when we sing those songs we are releasing things into the atmosphere. When God hears “For Your glory, I will do anything, just to see you, to behold you as my King.” Get ready for the “ANYTHING” that will come along with that.

I pray you have a blessed day in Jesus name! Be encouraged. Seeing God’s glory is worth more than what you will go through to get there!

Mrs. Nicole “Sunshine” Ellis, MBA

Can’t breathe: Try Spiritual CPR: Consistent in praying, Persistent in pursuing the knowledge of God, and Resistant to temptation.

Sunshine’s Reflections

Good morning! I pray your day is a blessed one. We have successfully completed the first quarter of the year. How did the first quarter go for you? It’s not too late to get back in the game and pursue your dreams. Success doesn’t sleep! So stop sleeping on your assignment that God has given you.

TFTD: You can run, but you can’t hide

Jonah 1:1, 3, 14-17 (NCV)

1 The Lord spoke his word to Jonah son of Amittai: 2 “Get up, go to the great city of Nineveh, and preach against it, because I see the evil things they do.”

3 But Jonah got up to run away from the Lord by going to Tarshish. He went to the city of Joppa, where he found a ship that was going to the city of Tarshish. Jonah paid for the trip and went aboard, planning to go to Tarshish to run away from the Lord.

14 So the men cried to the Lord, “Lord, please don’t let us die because of this man’s life; please don’t think we are guilty of killing an innocent person. Lord, you have caused all this to happen; you wanted it this way.” 15 So they picked up Jonah and threw him into the sea, and the sea became calm. 16 Then they began to fear the Lord very much; they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made promises to him.

17 The Lord caused a big fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was inside the fish three days and three nights.

Has God ever told you to do something, but your immediate response was to run? Be honest. Were you terrified at the size of the assignment or perhaps shocked that God chose you? Did you feel like you weren’t equipped to carry out the task or maybe you thought God should have selected someone else? It’s important to identify why your immediate response was to run so that you can deal with the emotions and thought pattern that got you there. I think that at some point in our lives we do run from our calling. We live in a society that lives by “Fight or Flight”.We can’t physically fight God so we run (take flight). I’m here to tell you that you can run, but you can’t hide.

Look at Jonah, God gave him specific instructions to go to the city of Nineveh and to preach against the evil things they were doing, but Jonah ran away. Read Jonah Chapter 1. Here you will see how Jonah’s actions of running away from God put other people in danger. Anytime you run from your calling you not only put yourself in danger, but you put other people in harm’s way. The men on the ship weren’t willing to die for someone elses disobedience so they threw Jonah off the ship and God sent a big fish to come swallow Jonah up. Jonah ran, but he couldn’t hide. I wonder who will throw you off of “the ship” (your comfort zone) in order to get you to where God needs you to be?

What have you been running from? What has God called you to do, but you keep running from it? You do know that you can run, but you can’t hide? I’m a witness, the more you run away from God the more that thing chases you. Have you noticed that your assignment keeps following you? Maybe every preached word confirms what God has told you to do and convicts you for your disobedience? Perhaps you are witnessing the destruction that is happening to others because you are not operating in your call? Or maybe you have been attacked for not being obedient. God is pushing you to operate in His will. You can keep running, but God will find you. You won’t get swallowed up in a big fish like Jonah did, but your “big fish” could be a season of isolation, where God has you fall on your face in order to cry out to Him.

I want to encourage you to stop running from God and run towards Him. It’s time to walk in your calling.

Have a blessed day!

Mrs. Nicole “Sunshine” Ellis, MBA

Can’t breathe: Try Spiritual CPR: Consistent in praying, Persistent in pursuing the knowledge of God, and Resistant to temptation.